章節 31: - As The Universe, So The Soul
She was floating. Everything around her was dark.
Am I in space? Hyunji wondered.
She didn't breathe. She didn't move. But her consciousness was still there.
I…died, she thought.
So this was the afterlife. It was nothing. Literally nothing.
How disappointing.
She had always hoped it would be bright, warm, and happy.
But this…this was torture. She couldn't feel anything, couldn't see, couldn't move.
Am I in hell?
It made sense. Hyunji knew she didn't deserve a content afterlife. She had murdered hundreds of people and felt no remorse for it. Hell was a much more fitting place for her.
A sound cut through the darkness, and Hyunji felt startled.
A voice?
The noise was so deep, it was hard to tell.
Suddenly, Hyunji could feel an energy around her, encircling her presence like a warm blanket.
She was surrounded by a living thing.
A star blinked into existence, smaller than a speck of dust. Even that far away, Hyunji found it beautiful. The only color in this vast darkness.
A second appeared. Then a third.
Before she knew it, Hyunji was surrounded by thousands, maybe even millions of tiny, colorful orbs.
Hyunji reached out to touch them. But she couldn't. She had no physical body anymore. Instead, she had become part of it all.
This was the universe.
Still, the human emotions of sadness and regret remained. Hyunji wished she didn't have to leave it all behind. Her brother. Her parents. Even Jade. Kenji could fuck off. She still couldn't believe he was the reason she'd died.
Her life had gone by so fast. Everything was just a blur, now that she thought about it.
If only she had had more time.
"Oh great. Now she's here," said a voice. "I don't have time to deal with this right now. Send her away."
Hyunji looked around, confused.
"I said send her away! Really, I'm on a strict schedule. Why would I want to talk to her? Poison! So ridiculous!"
There was silence for a moment. Hyunji still couldn't find the source of the voice.
"So you're saying it wasn't poison? Shot? In the face? Six times? That's a much better way to go out," continued the voice. It seemed like they were having a conversation with another being. "Okay, Rhea. Fine. I'll talk to her. But only for a moment."
The stars began to bend and warp until an opening formed. Green flames poured out, but Hyunji felt no heat.
A figure began to form in the doorway, particle by particle.
"Ah there she is. Look at you. A dead, pathetic soul," the voice said, surrounding the universe with a deep vibration.
Chronos.
The name popped into Hyunji's thoughts before she could ask.
"Why am I here?" Hyunji asked. Somehow she could hear her own voice, even though her physical body was nonexistent. "Just let me die."
Chronos laughed. "You have potential, human. I can see your future, after all. At least, one very…promising one."
"Potential? What potential? What future? I'm dead!"
The figure approached her, reaching a hand out. "If Rhea didn't have a say in all this, I wouldn't be wasting my time. But…let me show you something."
Chronos's very presence being this close made Hyunji recoil. He was strong. Anciently strong.
Space around them turned pitch black, and Hyunji felt as if she was flying forward, maybe even being sucked in by something.
She slowed down.
In a burst of energy, thousands of planets and stars appeared in the empty void, each different in composition.
"I am older than your simple brain can imagine. Perhaps the greatest god in existence. I was born when the Universe was born. Nothing existed before me, for time didn't exist before me. And without time, there is no existence."
Hyunji watched as the stars grew brighter and brighter until they disappeared in a flash. She watched as the Universe began to grow. Trillions of years were passing in front of her eyes in milliseconds.
"So how did existence start in the first place? If there was just nothing first?"
"Oh, child, that's the question isn't it? How did I gain life? How did the Universe come to be? The energy had to come from somewhere. Maybe it was a higher being, capable of things I can't comprehend. Sound familiar?"
Hyunji nodded, but she was deep in thought.
"Shall we?" Chronos asked with amusement, tapping on Hyunji's energy.
Hyunji opened her eyes to a field which stretched on for as far as she could see.
"Follow me."
They walked alongside the tall grass for what seemed like hours, but also mere seconds. Hyunji felt as though she had barely any time to take in the scenery. But the glimpses she got were beautiful.
Chronos came to a stop in a clearing. Not just a clearing, Hyunji realized. It was a barren wasteland.
A couple hundred meters away was a colorful plant. It was slightly wilted, as if it were struggling to survive. Chronos stepped over, waving his hand slightly.
Hyunji watched, confused.
The plant began to straighten, bending toward the sky. It grew larger and larger, until it completely surrounded Hyunji and much of the ecosystem. Its long branches seemed almost…protective.
"Life always prevails. Even when there is nothing, like before the Universe, somehow life appears. You humans attach to material things, but you forget about the most important thing of all: existence. You are alive, just as I am alive. You have a role, just as I have a role."
The world around her began to grow. Animals sprung up, evolving before her eyes. Wars were fought, diseases were spread, but life continued to grow. Buildings formed, along with communication and travel systems. It was way more advanced than what Hyunji was used to seeing.
"I think enough time has passed," Chronos said lightly, tapping on the plant where the civilization had sprouted. With just the slightest touch, time stopped. The world around Hyunji began to reverse.
"Death is inevitable," Chronos continued, spinning his hand around. "I will die, just as you will someday die."
Everything began to disappear. The plants, animals, and any remnants they left behind.
The life that was just given was taken away and returned to its purest form: energy. The only thing that remained was the plant, now no bigger than the hand pulling it from the rocky surface.
Hyunji's mind felt exhausted. It was so much information to take in.
"Why are you telling me all of this?" She asked.
Chronos spoke immediately. "I don't know. A mortal's perspective is always interesting."
"My perspective…this just makes everything more meaningless. To you, a mortal's life goes by in seconds. I wish I had more time to live."
"No you don't. It's torture truthfully. I'm stuck here until the end of all things. You mortals live the perfect amount of time, I believe."
Hyunji shook her head. "I don't understand what this has to do with me. What potential do I have?"
"That is not my place to say. If I tell you now, it will ruin the point of your existence. But you will understand. When we meet again, time will have passed for you. Experiences will change you, mold you into a different person."
Hyunji couldn't explain it. She could feel Chronos's presence, both in her past and future. He had always been there. "But you've already met that person I'll become. You said you've seen my future."
"Follow time on a linear path, Hyunji. It's much easier for a mortal like you. Just remember, the future is inescapable."
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